Nursing Students Receive Awards, Scholarships

June 17, 2009

Oklahoma Baptist University's School of Nursing recognized outstanding students during a nursing awards banquet on April 27. Laura Cooprider received recognition as the Outstanding Senior in the School of Nursing by Dr. Lana Bolhouse, dean of the School of Nursing. A nursing major from Edmond, Okla., Cooprider also was recognized during the 2009 Awards Convocation on May 13 in Raley Chapel. She graduated with the designation magna cum laude during Spring Commencement May 23.

The Outstanding Senior in the School of Nursing award honors the student who demonstrates competence in the knowledge and skills required for beginning practice as a professional nurse. The recipient incorporates caring behaviors in interactions with clients and colleagues, affirms commitment to the ethical values of the Judeo-Christian beliefs, demonstrates a commitment to continuing personal and professional development grounded in liberal arts philosophy and assumes moral and legal responsibility for his or her own professional nursing practice.

Bolhouse recognized other seniors honored by their peers and presented scholarships during the awards banquet. Jenni Tilson, from West Plains, Mo., received the award for outstanding scholarship. Tilson graduated with college honors. Lisa Vernon, from Shawnee, Okla., received the award for political action. Emily McMath, from Shawnee, and Kara Brock, from Enid, Okla., received the award for outstanding caring. Natalie Neal, from Nederland, Colo., received the award for outstanding long-term care. Shauna Quirk, from Del City, Okla., received the award for outstanding research.

Kim Friesen, from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., received the award outstanding non-traditional student. Jessica Hobbs, from Coffeyville, Kan., received the award for outstanding family nursing. Destiny Marrs, from Moore, Okla., received the award for community nursing. Shawnda Sears, from Crowley, Texas, received the award for pediatric nursing. Ellisabeth Weaver, from Stillwater, Okla., received the award for adult med-surg nursing. Hannah Benfield, from Kennewick, Wash., received the award for outstanding critical thinking. Christopher Wilkinson, from Puyallup, Wash., received the award for outstanding use of technology.

Scholarship recipients also were honored during the banquet. Fausat Momodu, a sophomore from Arlington, Texas, received the Mikela Adams Grider Memorial Nursing Fund. The award, an annual scholarship given to an OBU junior or senior nursing student, is made possible through a fund established by the late Mr. Otis S. Adams and his wife, Johnie, in memory of their daughter, Mikela Adams Grider, a 1962 OBU nursing graduate.

Kathryn Hockett, a sophomore from Collbran, Colo., received the Florence E. David Scholarship. The award, an annual scholarship given to an OBU junior or senior nursing student, is made possible through a fund established by OBU nursing graduates in honor and memory of the late Mom (Florence E.) David, who served as dorm director of the OBU nursing dorm at Wesley Hospital in Oklahoma City for many years.

Jennifer Tiger, a sophomore from Shawnee, received the Oscar and Dorathy White Nursing Award. The scholarship is an annual award given to an OBU nursing student who demonstrates deep concern for the welfare of the elderly, an understanding of the needs of these citizens and that these needs/desires are not unlike the needs of other human beings. The recipient is recognized as a student who views aging as a normal developmental process, highly esteems the older person for personal worth, and recognizes the older person's past and present contributions to society. The recipient must have a least a 2.75 grade point average. The scholarship is made possible through a fund established by Jack and Mary White Johnson, who is the daughter of the Whites and a long-time OBU nursing faculty member.

Tiger also received the Vivian Putnam Beanland Memorial Scholarship, an annually funded scholarship with first priority given to African Americans. The recipient must maintain at least a 2.75 grade point average. The scholarship is made possible through a fund established by Mary Beanland Drummond, daughter of Vivian Beanland, and Dr. Juanita Johnson, OBU nursing faculty member, to honor the memory of Mrs. Beanland who provided a scholarship for Dr. Johnson to attend OBU. She demonstrated unbiased, non-prejudiced generosity in a time when obstacles faced by African Americans were at a peak.

Katherine Unruh, a sophomore from McPherson, Kan., received the Vogel Nursing Award. The annual scholarship is given to an OBU nursing student who, in the opinion of the OBU nursing faculty, best reflects the life of Miss Emma G. Vogel, a 1908 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Nursing. The recipient should be interested in a career in missions or one who has demonstrated outstanding work with children. The scholarship was made possible through a fund established by the family of Emma G. Vogel.

Tarah Hoover, a junior from Bedford, Texas, received the Elizabeth G. Moorer Nursing Scholarship. The award is an annual scholarship given to an OBU nursing student who is an honest, hardworking student who has ambitions to be a good nurse and "will not marry before education is complete." The scholarship is made possible through a fund established by the late William D. and Gatra B. Moorer of Tulsa, Okla.

Katie Dominguez, a junior from El Dorado, Ark., and Lynsi Rhodes, a senior from Edmond, received the Ella Jones Jacobs Memorial Scholarship. The annual award, given to an OBU nursing student, is made possible through a fund established by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth F. Harris of Oklahoma City in memory of Mrs. Harris' mother, a longtime Baptist leader in Oklahoma.

Olivia Boisse, a junior from Shapleigh, Maine, received the Jack and Norma Ross Nursing Scholarship. The award, an annual scholarship given to an OBU junior or senior nursing student, is made possible through a fund established by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ross, both OBU alumni.

Amy Sundberg, a senior from Winlock, Wash., received the Joann Hays Clingan Nursing Scholarship. The award, an annual scholarship given to an OBU nursing student, is made possible through a fund established by Frank A. Clingan, M.D., as a memorial to his late wife, Joann Hays Clingan, a member of OBU's first nursing graduating class in 1956.

Mattie LeMay, a junior from McLoud, Okla., received the Maxwell Scholarship in Nursing. The award, an annual scholarship given to an OBU junior or senior nursing major with good academic records, is made possible through a fund established by Rev. James P. Maxwell, a 1950 OBU graduate and longtime director of missions for the Pott-Lincoln Baptist Association, and LeVoe George Maxwell, a 1948 OBU graduate and longtime U.S. Public Health Service nurse.

Bethany Haines, a senior from Overland Park, Kan., received the Julie Ann Allen Memorial Scholarship. The award is an annually funded scholarship given to an OBU student majoring in nursing, with priority consideration given to nursing students with career objectives in missions. The scholarship is made possible through a fund established by Dr. and Mrs. H.E. Allen in memory of their deceased daughter, a 1994 OBU graduate.

Aubrey Fait, a senior from Arvada, Colo., received the Jack and Mary Kelly Endowed Scholarship in Nursing. The award, an annual scholarship given to an OBU nursing student, is given to students in junior- or senior-level nursing courses, including those students seeking a second bachelor's degree. The scholarship is made possible through a fund established by Lee and Betty Gorrell in memory of her parents, Jack and Mary Kelly of Oklahoma City.

Martin Villafana, a student seeking a second degree from Blanchard, Okla., received the Non-Traditional Nursing Student Scholarship. The award, an annually funded scholarship awarded to an OBU student who is determined to be a "non-traditional nursing student," is made possible through a fund established by several donors.

Tara Garrison, a senior from Liberty, Mo., received the Dr. Wilbur C. Lewis Scholarship, an annual scholarship given to an OBU student preparing for a health-related occupation who is committed to missions service. The scholarship is made possible through a fund established by Gladys Lewis and friends in honor of Dr. Wilbur C. Lewis, a 1952 graduate of OBU who served as a surgeon and as a medical missionary.

Tiffany Payton, a sophomore from Tulsa, received the Gayle Berling Memorial Scholarship. David Berling, husband of the late Gayle Cochran Berling, as well as the estate of Gayle Berling, established the Gayle Berling Memorial Scholarship in memory of Mrs. Berling, who died in 2004 at age 53 from breast cancer. She was a well-respected and dedicated neonatal nurse practitioner in Phoenix, Ariz., who credited a good portion of her career success to her educational experiences at OBU.

Molly Jeffers, a junior from Tulsa, received the Nursing Scholarship, an annual award given to an OBU student. Nicole Davis, a senior from Shawnee, received the Winnifred Perry Byrnes O'Bryan Scholarship. Dr. Carey O'Bryan of Albuquerque, N.M., established the award in honor of his wife, a retired nurse.

The Wilma R. Wood Nursing Scholarship was awarded to Chanelle Anderson, a senior from Colcord, Okla.; Frieda Freeman-Cooper, a freshman from Oklahoma City; Newah Mofor-Tawo, a freshman from Oklahoma City; Meghan O'Neil, a senior from Edmond; Abby Raney, a senior from Shawnee; and Paula Smith, a student seeking a second degree from Oklahoma City. The scholarship was established by Carl Wood, as successor adviser of the Wood Family Charitable Trust, and his family.

The OBU School of Nursing is a baccalaureate program for the preparation of a professional nurse. The nursing faculty view nursing as a Christian ministry and as a professional practice. During nursing courses students learn to provide quality nursing care through competent practice. Upon completion of the program, the graduate is qualified to take the national examination for licensure as a registered nurse in a state of choice. The School of Nursing is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and is approved by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing. Graduates are eligible to apply to write the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for registered nurses.